Buying a 6800GT, need advice:

[Adn4n]

Which would give me the best bang for the buck? I've heard great things about the Gainward Golden Sample, any other mentions?

 

[dababus]

gainward golden sample is a great card but it will set you back for 430ish. For that matter, you can throw in extra 50 and you might get a decent deal on 6800 Ultra on the forums.

But if you don't want Ultra, I would highly recommend Gainward, if not then BFG or eVGA.

 

[redDragon128]

yep, Golden Samples = $$$
I'd go with the eVGA or BFG GT.

 

[redDragon128]

actually wait...the Galaxy ones are really nice because they have NV Silencer 5 installed. So I'd actually say go with the Galaxy. Very nice card.

 

[Luck JF]

Don't get one with an NVSilencer. It has no seperate heatsink for the video ram. Some people using them have had their cards fry.

 

[HardWarrior]

Originally posted by: Luck JF
Don't get one with an NVSilencer. It has no seperate heatsink for the video ram. Some people using them have had their cards fry.

Are you sure about that? I don't have one, but from the pictures the contact surface is just the right shape to contact the cards RAM as well as GPU.

 

[zodder]

I have had great luck with my PNY.

 

[Cannabis]

Originally posted by: Luck JF
Don't get one with an NVSilencer. It has no seperate heatsink for the video ram. Some people using them have had their cards fry.

Your information is flawed. The heatsink covers the memory as well as the GPU. I think they are excellent, dropped my core and ambient case temps and is much quieter than the stock cooler.

 

[Luck JF]

Originally posted by: Cannabis

Originally posted by: Luck JF
Don't get one with an NVSilencer. It has no seperate heatsink for the video ram. Some people using them have had their cards fry.

Your information is flawed. The heatsink covers the memory as well as the GPU. I think they are excellent, dropped my core and ambient case temps and is much quieter than the stock cooler.

Yes I know the heatsink covers the GPU and the ram. But my PNY has a seperate heatsink that covers the ram and a seperate heatsink for the GPU. That is the NVidia reference design. It calls for seperate heatsinks for the ram and GPU.
Because the NVSilencer heatsinks contacts both the GPU and Ram it could be causing the ram to run hotter than it would with a seperate heatsink. NVidia did not seperate them in their reference design for nothing.
Also you should know that arctic cooling sells silver thermal paste that has no silver in it's content but is merely colored silver. So one has to wonder about their engineering expertise. I do think the VGA silencer was a good product but I would use some caution about the NVSilencer. I say that because of the heatsink and because some users have burnt out their cardswhile it was in place. If that was the main cause I don't know but I personally would not chance it.

 

[PolaroidPaul]

.

Originally posted by: Luck JF

Yes I know the heatsink covers the GPU and the ram. But my PNY has a seperate heatsink that covers the ram and a seperate heatsink for the GPU. That is the NVidia reference design. It calls for seperate heatsinks for the ram and GPU.

Because the NVSilencer heatsinks contacts both the GPU and Ram it could be causing the ram to run hotter than it would with a seperate heatsink. NVidia did not seperate them in their reference design for nothing.

Also you should know that arctic cooling sells silver thermal paste that has no silver in it's content but is merely colored silver. So one has to wonder about their engineering expertise. I do think the VGA silencer was a good product but I would use some caution about the NVSilencer. I say that because of the heatsink and because some users have burnt out their cardswhile it was in place. If that was the main cause I don't know but I personally would not chance it.

I don't own any of these cards but I think your data may be correct but I don't get the same conclusions that you do.

Heatsinks and fans for cards are chosen based upon many factors. Heat rise (based upon power dissipation, chip area) affects the size. Seperate units are often used to guarantee good flat contact with the device to be cooled. Finally, cost is a big factor in determining the solution to be used. That being the case, the reference design usually represents a cost effective implementation that fits most uses. It is not necessarily the best design or only design there can be.

Artic selling silver colored thermal paste without silver in it is a non-issue. It has nothing to do with engineering expertise. What is important is the thermal conductivity and how much you are paying for what you get. Products are engineered to meet performance targets AND price targets. A lower priced item with possibly lower performance is typically just as well engineered as a high priced product.

Finally, an NVSilencer installed by customers may give different results than one installed at the factory which guarantees the combination. I design electronics for a living and as a consumer, I would prefer a solution installed by the factory... but that is my choice. There are many things that can cause problems when installing heat sinks. They are all easily doable but one goof in the wrong place can cause premature failure down the line.

Good luck with whatever card you choose. Lately it seems like you can't good deals on any 6800 cards! I am waiting for a 6600GT and a decent AMD/NVIDIA PCIe motherboard to drive it.